First Time for Everything
by DOTB18
Summary: Dan had always wondered what a FMA fanfic would be like if the OC was a guy. Now's the time to find out. Rated T for language, violence and mature content. DISCONTINUED.
1. The Gate

**_Fullmetal Alchemist_ is the rightful property of Hiromu Arakawa. The only things that belong to me are my OCs.**

**Spoiler warning to those who have not been keeping up.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Gate**

Daniel Bilodeau is just your average guy. With short black hair and brown eyes, he's pretty average looking. He doesn't have much muscle to speak of, and the same can be said for fat. Being 180 cm tall, he's the tallest in his family. At 19, he still lives with them, but he can't complain. Not a lot happens in his life; he works at his job every few days, with his spare time spent at home on his computer. He does have friends that he hangs out with, and will sometimes strike up a friendly conversation at work. He just doesn't crave human attention like his sisters do.

Dan has many interests. One of them is _Fullmetal Alchemist_. A bit of a late-coming-fan, he's watched every episode of both animes and read every chapter of the manga thus far. He has also been reading FMA fan-fiction. His favorite genre is when a person from the real world gets thrown into the world of FMA. But there was one aspect of all these stories that nagged at the back of his mind: the OC is always a girl.

Late one night, he was finishing up a chapter of one such story when he checked the clock on his computer: 2:06 AM.

_I should really work on that_, he thought. Staying up late till the wee hours of the morning was a bit of a bad habit of his. He quickly shut off his computer, rolled into bed, and switched off the light. Before he had the chance to nod off, he couldn't help but think;

_What is it with these girl OCs? Why can't it be a guy for once? _

Slowly, the thoughts began to fade from his mind, until finally he fell into a deep sleep. He had no way of knowing this could be the last time he does so in his own bed.

* * *

Something did not feel right to Dan. He suddenly felt exposed. He moved around a bit to get more comfortable, but soon realized that there was no blanket. He wasn't even in bed! It felt like he was on the floor. But it didn't feel like tile or hardwood flooring. The best way he could describe it was that it was there, but at the same time, not there. Dan finally decided to open his eyes, only to quickly shut them back tight. Slowly this time, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the light. When he could finally get a clear view, there was no view. There was nothing around him, absolutely nothing; only whiteness everywhere. There was no edge on the horizon, like it went on forever. He got up off the floor to take in his… surroundings.

"What is this place?" he asked aloud.

As though it were an answer to his question, Dan turned to see a huge set of stone doors with strange carvings engraved into it. It appeared as though they were floating just above the "ground". It seemed oddly familiar…

"**Hello.**"

Dan jumped a one-eighty to the source of the voice. He was already scared out of his mind just being here, and the simple greeting nearly gave him a heart attack. What he saw was just bizarre. It looked like a void in the emptiness, it's outline surrounded by a shadowy mist, giving it the silhouette of a person. It was sitting casually on the ground. He somehow recognized this thing too, but from where?

He was pretty sure he had the answer, but he couldn't help but ask, "Who are you?"

"**I am what people refer to as God, or the World. The Universe. The One. The All… I am You.**"

It's voice sounded like an entire world speaking in unison.

"You're Truth, aren't you?" he asked weakly.

It grinned. "**You catch on quickly.**"

His eyes widened in fear as his suspicion proved correct. His stomach was doing back flips as questions rushed through his mind.

_How could this be happening? How did I get here? __**Why**__ am I here?_ He was starting to panic. He needed to think rationally.

"You're not real. You can't be real. I mean… you're a fictional character for God's sake!"

"**If I'm not real, then how am I here?**"

Dan looked at Truth with a bewildered stare. This was getting frustrating.

"Why am I here! From what I understand, people get summoned to The Gate by performing human transmutation. I'm not even an alchemist!"

It's grin grew wider. "**From what you understand is exactly right. I'm an omnipotent being. Did you really think my reach only went so far?**"

_Shit._

"Then why have I been summoned?"

Dan tried to think of reasons why this would be happening to him, but he kept coming up empty handed.

"**You are here because I am just as curious as you are.**"

Dan was caught completely off guard.

_What did it mean by "curious"?_

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"**You had been wondering what would happen if a 'guy' from your world were to end up in another **_**certain**_** one. You seem like the perfect candidate.**"

_Another world? Perfect candidate? He can't mean…_

"Wait, wait, wait one minute. You're actually thinking of sending me into the world of _Fullmetal Alchemist_? Sorry, but I think you got the wrong guy for the job. I wouldn't last a day. So could you just send me back home now?"

Somehow, the Truth's grin grew even wider. "**You don't have a choice. But if it makes you feel better, I am going to help you get 'prepared'**"

Dan heard a creaking sound behind him that made the hair on his neck stand on end. He turned around apprehensively to find that The Gate was opening. Inside it was pitch black, but then a huge grey eye opened up in the center. Just as Dan was about to run, long black tendrils shot out of The Gate, latching on to his arms and legs. He tried to struggle away, but their grip was too strong, and they began to pull him in.

"NO, PLEASE NO! LET ME GO, PLEASE! NOOOOOO!"

By some horrific miracle, Truth's grin grew ever wider as he was pulled inside The Gate.

"**Don't forget. You'll need to pay your toll.**"

Dan was screaming bloody murder, struggling to no avail. Suddenly he stopped moving. Information was beginning to poor into his head: physics; math; alchemy; everything. It was all going by so fast like a slide-show in ultra-high-speed mode. His head felt as though it was going to split from the pressure.

Just when it seemed his skull was going to explode, he felt something tugging at his left arm. He quickly turned his head to see what it was, only to find to his horror… his arm was disintegrating! The same was happening to his legs, creeping up to his torso, to his head! Just before he was completely broken down, he let out one last blood curdling scream.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"

He wailed. He cried. With his right hand gripping the bloody stump that was once his left arm, he thrashed about in pain. It was the most excruciating pain he'd ever felt in his entire life. Trying with all his might to think past the agony, he came to realize that he was lying on wet grass. He was outside. It was dark, so it must have been night.

It was raining. Hard. In the distance, lightning struck and thunder clapped. He was stuck out in the middle of a storm. He tried to get up, hissing through his gritted teeth. He had to find shelter. He had to find help.

Another bolt of lightning struck, illuminating his surroundings. A few yards away, he spotted a two-story house. The lights were still on. With adrenaline starting to kick in, he ran to the house as fast as he dared over the slippery terrain, hoping that someone was home. When he reached the front steps, he had ran past a sign next to the porch. Had he taken a moment, it would have read, "AUTOMAIL".

Panting heavily, he pounded on the door three times. Just as he was about to pound a fourth time, he collapsed into a heap on the porch from exhaustion, blood loss, shock, pain, and who knows what else. Before he could pass out, the door opened with a blinding light.

"Granny! Get some bandages, quick!"

Using whatever remaining strength he had left, Dan looked up to the source of the voice. There was a girl, about fourteen or so, kneeling over him. She had long, blond hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a pink Sunday dress with flowers. She seemed oddly familiar.

Before he could say anything, his mind fogged into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Well that's it for the first chapter of my first fanfic. Where has Dan ended up? And who was that girl?**

**If you review nicely, then maybe we'll find out in the next chapter.**


	2. Five Years Back

**Thank you for reviews. I was actually a little nervous that I wouldn't get any at all.**

**pretend to be a mortician: it's nice to know that my story has caught your attention despite your preferences. Thank you.**

**Cocoasit: you'll just have to read and find out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, just some OCs. **

**Now on to the story. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Five Years Back**

He groaned. Dan felt like he'd been forced through a wood chipper after being slugged over the head with a bat. His memory was a bit foggy. He shuffled to get more comfortable when he took note of a sharp pain in his left shoulder. He lifted his right hand to try and soothe the pain, but soon realized there was no shoulder to soothe. His eyes shot open as realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

You know those moments when a person screams so loud, that the shot pans out to the outside of the building, and there's sometimes a bunch of birds that get spooked out of a tree? Yeah… Everyone within a ten kilometer radius was taking notice.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

He was panicking. He tried to jump off the bed he was on, but fell flat on his face with a thud, the blanket tangled around his legs. Groaning in pain, he lifted his head when he heard a door swing open. It was that girl again.

"What happened? Are you alright?" she asked worryingly.

"Uh…" was all that left his mouth. He was in shock, to say the least. Not just because this girl seemed very familiar to him, but she was a drawing! Glancing around, trying to make it look like he was searching for an answer to her questions, he realized that the entire room looked like it had been drawn or painted. Quickly looking down to his remaining arm, he felt the blood drain from his face when he saw the black lines on the edges and the even tone of his skin.

"What's all the ruckus?"

Snapping back to reality, he saw a short old woman calmly walk into the room, pipe in hand. She was wearing an apron and a pair of glasses, and had her hair done up in a pointed bun that was sticking almost straight up. She was soon followed by a large black-and-white dog with a metal front leg. He swore he could feel his eyes growing to the size of dinner plates.

_You have got to be kidding me._

"Here, let me help you up," the girl said as she walked over and offered her hand. After a moment's hesitation, he took her hand and allowed himself to be hefted back onto the bed. Once he regained whatever composure he had left, he decided to break the silence.

"Uh, sorry about that. It's not every day I wake up to find…" he trailed off. His voice sounded off.

_I sound like some kid,_ he thought.

"Oh, don't be. We were beginning to wonder if you were going to wake up at all," the girl said with a polite smile.

"How long was I out?"

"You slept through a whole day," said the old woman. "You must be hungry. Why don't you come downstairs and we'll make you some breakfast."

Dan was hungry all right. Having been out like a light for a day will do that to you. But there was a more pressing matter.

"I would very much like that, thank you. Yet, before I do, could either of you direct me to the bathroom?"

"Sure. It's down the hall, second door on the left," said the girl as she gestured out the door with her thumb.

"Thank you… Uh, I didn't catch your names." He was pretty sure who they were, but he felt that playing dumb was needed in this situation.

"I'm Pinako Rockbell. This is my grand-daughter, Winry."

"Hi," said Winry as she lightly waved her hand.

"I'm Daniel Bilodeau. It's nice to meet you. So, down the hall…"

"… second door on the left," repeated Pinako.

"Thanks."

As Dan walked down the hall, which was a rather wobbly journey, being a bit weak and off balance, he noticed his pajamas seemed bigger than before.

_What is going on here? _

When he arrived in the bathroom, he took off his black t-shirt, a difficult feat with only one hand, to get a better look at himself in the mirror. He could hardly believe was he was seeing. He looked like an anime character, complete with big eyes. His skin was one tone all over, with no signs blemishes, acne, freckles, or even hair, from what he could see anyway, what with his torso wrapped in bandages.

Looking at his face again, he noticed that he didn't have any stubble; it was completely smooth. He also noticed that he didn't look 19 anymore. His Adam's apple was just in it's early stages and his face seemed softer. Taking a step back, he looked down at his dark gray checkered pajama pants. It was a bit loose at the waist and the legs bunched up on his feet. He was definitely shorter, by a few centimeters at least. Somehow, he was younger, around 13 or 14.

_How is this possible? _Then he remembered_. _

_*flashback*_

"_**I'm an omnipotent being. Did you really think my reach only went so far?" **_

_*end flashback*_

"You sick bastard," he muttered to himself. "You take away my arm, my life, and then you give back five years of my childhood? What kind of demented game are you playing at?"

Suddenly, a knocking on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Are you alright in there?" It was Winry.

"Oh! Uh… I'm fine. Just… fine," he stammered. "I'll be right out."

"Okay." He could hear her footsteps move down the hall.

_Phew, that was close. They probably think I'm crazy enough as it is._

* * *

Dan wasn't one to normally "pig out." But he felt like he was _starving_. He was just scarfing down the eggs and bacon that had been prepared that morning. Winry and Pinako were looking on curiously.

"Thith ith th betht…. *gulp* This the best breakfast I've ever had!"

"Why thank you," said Pinako. "So Daniel, now that we're better acquainted, mind telling us what happened?"

Dan stopped eating. He knew that question was going to come up at some point. He looked over to where his arm should be, thinking about his experience at The Gate.

"You wouldn't believe me," he said quietly.

"Try me."

He looked up with surprise. Pinako sat there with an expectant look on her face, like she knows something. He looked over to Winry, who looked both curious and worried. How was he going to explain this? His stomach started to hurt. He tensed up. He looked away as his hand balled into a fist.

"I was dragged into someone else's experiment, and I paid a price."

He started shaking and his eyes began to well up with tears. As he continued, his voice started to crack.

"Now I'm not where I should be, and I don't know if I can ever get back."

"Back where?" asked Winry.

Dan furiously pounded his fist into the table as he shot up from his seat.

"HOME DAMMIT, WHERE DO THINK?"

He stood there, breathing heavily, teeth clenched, and eyes burning. He forced himself to calm down when he saw the look on Winry's face. She seemed hurt, scared, and apologetic, all at once. Glancing over to Pinako, she was also standing, ready to defend her grand-daughter.

Now with guilt added to his emotional pile, he turned and ran for the door. Finally, Winry stood up.

"Daniel, wait!" she called.

Dan stopped just as he opened the door. A barely audible "I'm sorry" was heard before he bolted. Winry was about to give chase when Pinako held up her hand.

"I think he needs some time to himself. Don't worry, he'll come back."

"What makes you so sure?" asked Winry.

"He won't get very far just wearing pajamas, you know."

* * *

He was back where he started at the very spot where he entered this world. Though the rain washed away the blood, the grass where he laid was lightly singed, like it had been exposed to an intense heat or energy.

He laid there, staring at the sky, watching the clouds float by. Turning his head to either side, he could see vast fields of grass on gentle hills. Leading away from the Rockbell house, there was a dirt road heading towards what seemed like the middle of town. Off in the distance, he could see a trail of smoke coming from a train. He heard birds singing softly in the trees, and the smell of the air was so fresh on the gentle breeze. It was very rural. It was definitely Resembool.

"Why is this happening?" he thought out loud. "And to me of all people?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the loud grumbling of his stomach.

"Now is not the time to be thinking about food."

As if in retaliation, the digestive organ growled even louder.

"Maybe it's trying to tell you not to sit and mope all day."

A bit startled, Dan tilted his head to see an up-side-down Winry walking towards him, her dog Den following behind. He sat up and turned around.

"Hey, Winry."

"Hey."

She came and sat down beside him. Den laid down between them and looked up at Dan. She gave a small whimper, so Dan started petting her head. Neither teen said anything for a while.

"Her name is Den," said Winry, breaking the silence.

Dan sat up and looked at her curiously. He already knew the dog's name was Den, but he had always wondered where it came from.

"What kind of name is that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she answered, looking up in thought. "I was just a little girl when we first got her. My parents decided to let me name her and for some reason I chose 'Den'. It stuck because I'd have a fit if they tried naming her something else."

Dan chuckled. "Is that so? I had a dog too, once. His name was Bailey. I can't remember who came up with the name or why, but later on we joked that it was because his fur was the same creamy brown color of a certain alcoholic beverage, though it was _probably _just a coincidence."

Winry laughed at his joke and he chuckled back.

"Listen. I'm sorry I yelled at you. It was uncalled for," Dan said.

"No, I should be apologizing. It was a stupid question," Winry replied.

"Don't be like that. There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers."

They continued to sit there for a few more minutes until Winry stood up.

"You want to go get something to eat? It's about lunch time and Granny's making sandwiches," she announced.

"No thanks."

*grrrooooooooaaaaaaaannnnnnn*

"Yes please," he said sheepishly.

Winry gave a small giggle as Dan got up. As they walked back to the house, Dan had a sudden thought.

"Hey, Winry."

"Yeah."

"This is going to sound a bit weird, but what year is it?"

Winry stopped. She looked back at him with a confused look.

"Don't you know already?"

"Well... thing is... uh..." he stammered, trying to come up with an excuse. "I need to... to make sure I don't have amnesia or something," he finally answered, lightly tapping his head.

For a moment, she had a thoughtful look, then she answered, "May 4, 1913."

After some brief calculating with his remaining fingers, Dan sighed and gave Winry a thankful smile.

"Thanks Winry. I needed that."

"No problem." _That was a bit weird_, she thought.

Continuing with their walk, Dan started to lag behind.

_1913, huh? So that should mean I won't be seeing _them_ for another year or so, if I don't get back home before then. Speaking of which, _how_ am I going to get back?_

"Hey Dan! Are you coming or what?" Winry called, pulling him off his train of thought. She and Den had already arrived at the house. Running to catch up, he stopped to look at the "AUTOMAIL" sign he so hastily passed by the other night. Looking over to what remained of his arm, Dan came to a decision. Entering the house, he found Winry sitting at the table with Pinako, both eating sandwiches.

"Well, look who came back," announced Pinako.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted before. It was..."

"Don't worry about it," she interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. "If you don't want to tell us, it's none of our business, so we won't press the matter. But if you ever feel like talking, you can always come to us. Okay?"

"Thank you," he said appreciatively. Then his demeanor became a bit more serious.

"Mrs. Rockbell, I have something to ask of you."

"Hmm, what's that?"

Dan took a deep breath, like he was about to jump off a cliff. Holding his shoulder, he looked her in the eye and said, "How much is automail?"

* * *

**And that's chapter 2. It's a bit longer than the last one and hopefully that will set a trend for the future.**

**Please R&R**


	3. A Very Generous Donation

**Hello, it's me again. Sorry it took so long, but this chapter was driving me up the wall with chronic writer's block. I had to rewrite it like three times! And it didn't help that I kept getting ideas for later in the story, but not for right now. Ain't that a bitch.**

**If you'd all like an idea of what Daniel looks like, you can check out my avatar. I made it using a character creator on DeviantArt, as I have no artistic skill when it comes to faces.**

******Thank you to those who reviewed, I really do appreciate it. **

**pretend to be a mortician: That's a good idea, I might do that if I can make it work. With regards to pairings, I'm just going to say that I'm a canon shipper. As to Dan becoming a traveling companion to the Elric brothers, you'll just have to wait and see.**

**x-Malicious-Me-x: I'm glad that you're intrigued.**

**lizardboy: I'm happy to know you liked it.**

**S. Voltaire: It's good to know that I'm not the only one to notice the bias in OC gender choices.**

**Mikano Zirake: Right about now.**

**I don't own FMA, just some OCs, now lets get on with the show.**

* * *

**A Very Generous Donation**

"Hello, Mr. Thomson? My name is Daniel Bilodeau and I saw your ad in the paper."

"..."

"No I'm not from around here, but I will be staying for a while."

"..."

"Yes I have worked in a deli before."

"..."

"I'm fourteen, sir."

"..."

"Well, I don't think it's too early to get a job. Plus, I'm kind of in need of the money."

"..."

"It's for automail, sir."

"..."

"Well, I lost my arm and..."

"..."

"No no, I understand. Thank you for your time. Bye."

Hanging up the phone, Dan scratched off _Thomson Deli _from the newspaper ads section. It had been a week since he asked about the price of automail, and it turned out to be quite substantial. After some negotiating, the Rockbells decided to cut him a deal: If he can get a job within the next month, medical expenses are one the house. So while he was still recuperating, he started calling anyone who had job offers in the paper. And as we've witnessed just now, he wasn't having much luck. As to be expected, his age and physical condition were liabilities. But he kept trying. There had to be something. Besides, beggars can't be choosers.

While pressing the phone between his head and his shoulder, he dialled another number, then listened to the tone.

"Hello, Miss Kolmak? My name is Daniel Bilodeau and I saw your ad in the paper."

"..."

"Yes"

"..."

"Well no, I've never actually worked in a flower shop before, but first time for everything, right?"

"..."

"I fail to see what being a boy has to do with anything."

*click*

"Hello? Helloooooooo?"

He stared at the phone incredulously. _Did she just hang up on me? What the hell?_

At this time, Winry came into the room to check up on him. She looked over at Dan, who was still glaring at the phone.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Do you know an Elizabeth Kolmak?" he asked back without looking her way.

"You mean the owner of the flower shop? Yeah, I kind of know her. She can be a little stuck up. Why, did something happen?"

"I think she might be sexist. She wouldn't give a job because I'm a guy."

Both were quiet for a few seconds until Winry clutched at her sides as she began a fit of laughter.

Dan scowled a bit. "It's not that funny. In case you you've forgotten, I need money to pay for automail, and to get that money I need a job, which seems to be nearly impossible right now."

"Oh lighten up," said Winry as she calmed down. "You'll get a job soon enough, you'll see. And besides, you made an excellent decision to get yourself outfitted with automail." She then proceeded to perform her "love-of-automail-wiggly-happy-dance", her blushing face glowing with innocent bliss. "The smell of oil, the creaking of artificial muscles, the whirring of bearings, and the beautiful form based on the principles of biophysical research. Oh... isn't automail just awesome?"

Dan stood there as he sweat-dropped (he tried not to freak out the first time he did it), still having yet to actually hang up the phone. _I know she likes automail, but holy freaking God!_

"Automail junky," he muttered as he hung up the phone, hoping the 'clink' would cover his comment.

"What was that?" Winry asked threateningly, now brandishing her weapon of choice; the dreaded wrench.

"Nothing!" he answered quickly. _Where the Hell does she keep that thing?_

Thankfully, before the girl's favorite tool had a chance to make contact with Dan's skull, her diminutive grandmother came in through the front door with a bag of groceries in hand. "Afternoon you two," she called out.

"Hey Granny," answered Winry. She seemed to have forgotten about her impending tirade, to which Dan sighed in relief. As Pinako walked into the kitchen, she placed a small bundle of envelopes on the table. While Dan offered to help store the food, Winry sought to sifting through the mail.

"Ugh, it's just like them not to send any letters," she coldly stated.

"Just like who?" Dan asked.

"... Nobody important," she scoffed.

_She must be talking about Ed and Al. They really should write to her._

Suddenly, Winry stopped looking through the mail and stared at one particular envelope. "Well that's odd," she pondered.

"What?" Dan asked curiously.

"This letter's addressed to you," she said as she held up the letter in question. Dan took a closer look and, sure enough, it had his name written on the side. His face was suddenly a ghostly white as he stared at the letter. He gulped nervously before asking, "Wh... Who's it from?"

"It doesn't say. Are you in some kind trouble?"

"N... no, I just... Do you think you can open it?"

"Okay?"

Tearing open the envelope, she pulled out a piece of paper that had been neatly folded three times.

"Well?"

"It's a bank statement."

"... Huh?"

"Look."

Dan grabbed the paper and read it over intensely. It was a bank statement all right. Specifically from _Banks Bank*****_. And the account was in _his_ name. He swore he could feel the blood draining from his face. _How the hell do I suddenly have a bank account in a place where I shouldn't even exist!_

"How did the bank know to send that here?" asked Winry, pulling Dan out of his thoughts.

_Aw shit! Dan you'd better come up with something fast!_

"Uh, I... tried applying for a job at the bank. Yeah, I had told them about my little 'auomail fund' and, being such nice people, they must have sent me the statement to show me how much money I already have... and I think I might told them I was staying here at the moment." _Smooth. Real smooth._

Winry seemed to take a moment to let the information sink in before saying, "Well that's nice of them." Dan sighed to himself in major relief.

"So, how much money _do_ you have?"

Dan read through the letter to find out. When he did, his breath hitched, causing him to inhale a bit of spit which sent him into a coughing fit.

"Dan! Are you okay?" Winry asked worriedly. In response, Dan handed the piece of paper to her so he could focus more on hacking the loogie lodged in his throat. Wanting to find out what caused such a reaction, she looked down to the letter and read it herself. What she discovered made her yell out something between sqeeing in glee and screaming in sheer terror. Hearing her grand-daughter in distress, Pinako ran into the room.

"Winry, what's the matter?"

The shocked girl shakily held up the dreaded paper. "He... He's..." she then pointed squarely at Dan, "HE'S FILTHY STINKING RICH!"

Slightly taken aback by the news, Pinako looked over to the dazed boy who now sported a glob of drool hanging from his mouth.

After all three were able to calm down, they sat down and had a discussion. Dan wanted to know how he came to be in possession of such a large sum of money, but Pinako advised that it would probably be best to "let sleeping dogs lie." Next on topic were Dan's conditions for his automail. He only had two: That they take as long as necessary ("That means no all-nighters, Winry.") and that he be strapped down during the operation ("I don't want to send either of you to the hospital."). With the first condition taken into consideration, they figured the automail would be completed in about a week, with a one year rehabilitation period afterwards. So in the meantime, Dan had to find something to occupy himself.

That started off with getting himself some new clothes, seeing as he couldn't just keep wearing his pajamas everyday. He got himself a few plain t-shirts, some pants that resembled jeans, socks and boxers, a black leather belt, and a pair of steal-toed shoes. Why steal-toe? Winry had a habit of leaving the occasional metal foot or upper-arm lying around the house.

After that was done, he decided that it might be a good idea to do a little research into alchemy. If it was alchemy that got him here, he could use it to get back home. As an FMA fan, he knew the basics well enough, like the three steps of a transmutation (comprehension, deconstruction and reconstruction) and the law of equivalent exchange. He also knew of the Philosopher's Stone and it's ability to bypass that law, but was well aware of the methods of its creation, so thought better of it. He could never bring himself to use it.

Visiting the local library, he took a book off the shelf titled _Introduction to Alchemy. _Taking it to a table for reading, he sat down and opened it to the first page. Not three minutes later, he slammed his head into the table in frustration. Alchemy is hard! He could barely make any sense of it. He should have paid more attention in Chem Lab. He couldn't even draw a perfect circle to save his life. _Wait a second._

He'd seen the Gate. That should mean he could perform transmutations without a circle, right? Could that also mean that he doesn't need to know everything? He looked down to his right hand. He wouldn't be able to test that theory until he got his automail. _It's going to be a long, painful year_, he thought grimly to himself.

* * *

***In my opinion, Hiromu Arakawa's most unoriginal idea.**

**If you're wondering as to just how rich Dan actually is, I'll give you a clue; it's enough to actually shut up Armstrong. My apologies if this brings Dan closer to being a Garry-Stu (the male version of a Marry-Sue), but I figuered a minimum-wage job wouldn't allow him to do the things I want him to. Please don't hate me.**

**Some of you may be wondering why Dan's automail recovery time is so short. That's because he only lost an arm. Remember how Ed's recovery was supposed to take three years? That was because he lost an arm _and_ a leg. I figured that automail rehabilitation time is dependent on how extensive is the automail.**

**Again, I'm so sorry for the long wait. I promise, once I hook up with the main storyline, updates will come significantly quicker.**

**Read and Review!**


	4. Dear Readers

**Dear readers,**

**I regret to inform you that, after nearly a year long hiatus, _First Time for Everything _has been officially discontinued. Some of you may be wondering as to why. The answer is; after constant writer's block and interferance of ideas for other unrelated (and undisclosed) works-in-progress, I've lost interest in it. I just don't feel for this story anymore. I apologize if you've been hoping for a continuation, but that is now highly unlikely. **

**On the bright side, I am working on another FMA story that, as far as I can tell, won't be like any previous FMA fanfic, so keep an eye out.**

**Again I apologize, for taking so long and for ending it so abruptly.**

**Sincerly,**

**DOTB18**


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